Cherry Blossom Time

Late every April the Sargent Cherry (Prunus sargentii) in my front garden blooms for a few days. Yesterday was unusually hot so the buds that had been slowly opening the day before suddenly burst into full bloom. Sitting under it I could hear the bees buzzing around. Sadly today it is rainy and the blooms may suffer because of it. This seems to happen every year. The unsettled weather of the season gives and also takes away. But I shouldn't complain. I do have pictures of a past year's blooms covered in snow!

I Win!

I managed to delay the final opening and accompanying stench until Mr. Stinxalot could be put outdoors. It smells like a dead animal. Really. 40.5"/103 cm. height above the tuber

The Market Returns!

This morning the Westside Community Farmers' Market started up again for the year. It's a sunny, warm morning and it was great to be able to once again walk the stalls and purchase food directly from the people who produced it.

Today's Haul:

• Baby Spinach


• Goat Cheese - Fresh with garlic and dill and the feta


• Honey


• Sour Cherry Cake


• Cherry Almond Cake


• Tomatoes! - I made it all winter without resorting to the flavorless ones at the grocery store. When I asked the grower if these tasted like tomatoes she said she hadn't tried them yet. I think it's worth taking a chance.


• Red Cabbage


• Cucumber


• Maple Syrup


• Pork Spare Ribs - These are going to get braised tomorrow evening. So good!

The Beast Grows

It's getting bigger and it's only a coincidence I've weighted it down with a couple of big rocks. I've decided it may be safe enough to keep it outside--barring rain--to avoid choking on it indoors. Its exile in the attic did seem to slow the flower's development but there was some wonky curving as the only light was from a low window on one side.

Amorphophallus konjac

If It Walks Like A Duck And It Talks Like A Duck

If it walks like a duck and it talks like a duck--it's a duck! We all know that. But what if it perches high in a tree and chirps like, oh, I don't know, some kind of bird, what is it? It's still a duck! It's a Wood Duck (Aix sponsa), actually. I love these things. It was a treat this morning that my "going back to the car" experience was a pair of Wood Ducks up in the sunlight. Made my day. That and the ham salad sandwich.

The missus was a bit more shy.

Flowers for Sunita

My friend, Sunita asked about the photo of emerging buds I posted a while ago. Here they are open and beautiful despite enduring a few inches of wet snow. They are Helleborus niger ssp. Macranthus. I have a few clumps of them planted in the garden and, just like my other Hellebores, now that they've had a couple years to settle in they're starting to flower nicely.

Belted Kingfisher

It was such a nice day I made a point of getting out and walking in the woods both at lunch and after work. On the latter walk I was making my leisurely way down the trail when I spotted something I rarely see on foot--a Belted Kingfisher perching. It seems whenever I see one of these wonderful birds they're in chattering flight along the stream. This one was a real treat and I got to observe it for a long while.



Other birds seen today included a Dark-eyed Junco, a species I'm finding is more skittish than others. They are the first to fly away from under the feeders if I go near the window




I also saw a pair of Black-capped Chickadees inspecting a hole in a log. Looking for a place to call home?

And, would you believe? along the trail I saw a small bird making a familiar call and hopping around on the ground that, due to the state of my vision and the jumble of leaf litter, I couldn't actually see. Having no binoculars I trained my camera on the locus of hopping. It was my new pal the Golden-crowned Kinglet! I've decided to make this my Species of the Month even though such a title doesn't actually exist.